Dune du Pilat

Piling up names

On the Internet, in guidebooksandbrochures,you'll findtwo denominations for this big pile of sand: Dune du PilatandDune du Pyla. So you will probably want to know which one is right. And the right answer is Dune du Pilat, but only a few
people know it.

While in all official documents the historically documented spelling Pilat is used (see for examplehere), a lot of people use Pyla, especially outside of France. Pilat
is derived fromtheGascon word"Pilat" which means "heap", "mound".

The seaside resort of Pyla sur Mer, founded in 1920 and being a part of La Teste de Buch extends right north of the dune. This proximity has led to the use of Dune du Pyla and the confusion
about the dune's real name.

When you are heading west towards the Atlantic Ocean, you willmeetalternatelyroad
signs with Dune du PilatandDune du Pyla. And to make things even trickier,there aresigns showing the way
toDune dePyla! But don't worry, it's all about the same dune.

Otherspellings you can sometimes findon the Internetlike "Pila"
or "Pylat" are definitely wrong. On thissite, we will only use the
official spellingDune du Pilat.

All the new signs that have been installed recently, including those at the newly designed roundabout (2017) right in front of the dune, point the way to the "Dune du Pilat".